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Chapter 4:
Standard Protocols

By Kazukuni Kobara

From Wireless Communications Security

This chapter provides an overview of wireless networking protocols and their standards. IEEE standardized IEEE 802.11 is the standard for wireless LAN system and Bluetooth is the standard for wireless ad hoc networks.

4.1 IEEE 802.11

4.1.1 Brief History

Motorola developed one of the first commercial wireless local area network (WLAN) systems with its Altair product. Altair was designed mostly to proprietary RF (radio frequency) technologies, provided low data rates and was prone to radio interference. In 1990, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) initiated the 802.11 project with a scope to develop a medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specification for wireless connectivity for fixed, portable, and moving stations within an area. Seven years later, on June 27, 1997, IEEE first approved the IEEE 802.11 international interoperability standard for WLAN. IEEE 802.11 standard uses 2.4 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) radio band and provides a mandatory 1 Mbps and an optional 2 Mbps data transfer rate. In 1999, IEEE ratified the 802.11a and the 802.11b wireless networking communication standards. IEEE 802.11b standard operates in the 2.4 2.5 GHz ISM band and permits transmission speed up to 11 Mbps. The 802.11a standard is a high-speed interface definition that can produce data at up to 54 Mbps and operates in the 5-GHz frequency spectrum.

4.1.2 IEEE802.11 Architecture

Mobile nodes connect to the fixed network through the fixed access point (AP) on a wired network, allowing the establishment of a peer-to-peer connection. The standard defines two...